


Holding Out For A Hero

by dragonmage27



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Alternate Universe, Captive Prince Week 2017, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-08 21:27:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11655075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonmage27/pseuds/dragonmage27
Summary: Damen finds a foreign man swept up along the shores of Akielos.-loosely inspired by Wonder Woman (2017). Where Damen is Diana Prince, Laurent is Steve Trevor, and nobody dies.





	1. sapphires

Damen was down on the beach, doing a routine scope of the island perimeter. He left his guards higher up on the cliffs as he rode his horse along the white sand. They were more for protocol than for his protection--there was no threat on the Kingdom of Akielos. Damen enjoyed the ride next to ocean breeze and the glistening waters, always the most beautiful after a dangerous storm. King Theomedes would send soldiers down after such a storm, wary of what could have washed up ashore.

There was the broken remnants of a boat swept up onto the sand, and Damen approached it cautiously. It wasn’t a boat of their design, and he wondered if the person aboard the boat had perished in the large waves long before the boat reached land. 

As his horse trotted closer, Damen saw a flash of golden yellow, glimmering from under the sun’s rays. It belonged to a figure washed up onto shore, clothed in dark blue, unmoving. Damen’s immediate thought was of his occasional nighttime lover--Lady Jokaste with her golden hair. There would be no reason for a lady of his court to have been out on the beach, but all the same Damen flung off his horse and hurried to the fallen figure fallen over onto the sand. 

Although he had not expected it to actually be Jokaste, Damen was surprised when turning the person over that it was a man, but with the face as lovely as one of the court ladies. Most importantly, he wasn’t breathing. It didn’t take Damen more than two seconds to decide to save him--regardless if he was a danger to his kingdom or not, he would need answers and that required him to be conscious. Damen pressed his large hands over a lightly muscled chest, and lowered his mouth to touch cold, salty lips to breathe life into him.

A moment later, the man gasped into awakening, and turned over onto his side, heaving and coughing up seawater. Damen settled back and watched as the man collect himself. He would restrain him if necessary. 

After a few more gasps of air, the man lifted his head and looked directly at Damen. “Who are you?” he asked warily, his voice still laced with a rasp. Veretian. 

Damen was caught by his gaze. His eyes were the colors of sapphires, the same twinkling shade of the deep, glittering ocean, and of the gems that a man would sell their land for. He had a beautiful face, symmetrical features and long lashes, pouty lips that Damen had so recently been acquainted with. “You are exquisite,” Damen uttered back in the man’s tongue. 

The man blinked, caught unaware by that response, and flushed, to Damen’s delight. The redness on his cheeks spread down his neck, and Damen regretted that this Veretian wore clothing so dark and tightly laced that he could not see how far his blush would extend. He asked in reply, “You speak Veretian?” 

“I speak many languages, Veretian is one of them.” 

“Who are you?” The man tried to sit up, and Damen moved to assist. The man, perhaps weak in strength, ended up sagging along Damen’s side and Damen was surprised by how well their bodies fit together. 

“I am Damianos of Akielos. You have arrived on the shores of our kingdom after a large storm.” 

The man looked at the wreckage of his vessel, and then back at Damen. “Akielos,” he repeated, with a strong accent. Damen smiled. 

Damen slowly, to not startle him, brushed a lock of his blonde hair behind the man’s ear so he could see his eyes more clearly. “In my kingdom, your fair coloring is rare. And your features are that of a woman. Slender and lithe, like a dancer. We do not have men like you here.” 

The man flushed again, and then said hotly, “Not everyone can look like you!” He sounded angry, and Damen wondered if he had said something wrong. 

“I do not mean that as an insult. I mean it when I say that you are beautiful. Stunning. I have never seen such beauty like yours in all my kingdom. You are,” Damen paused and reached a hand for the man’s face. When he didn’t flinch away, Damen cupped his chin and tilted it up. “Incomparable.” 

The man turned his head, but didn’t pull away from Damen’s hand. “Where I am from, you are the specimen.” With hesitant fingers, he touched Damen’s chest, much to Damen’s delight. His fingers were cold against the firm, exposed muscle--Damen’s chiton was a lot more revealing than the man’s laced attire. “Are all your people so...” 

Damen watched as the man’s eyes swept his body, as they drifted lower to what lay between his thighs, and the man’s eyes jerked back up to meet Damen’s amused ones. The chiton was thin, and Damen had unbidden desires. 

“I would say,” Damen answered, a hand slipping up to hold the man’s hand over his heart. “I am above average.”


	2. Freedom

“Tell me what you brought you here,” Damen said as he tucked a lock of hair behind Laurent’s ear. They were still kneeling among the sand, the ocean waves occasionally reaching far enough to lap at their feet. 

Laurent’s cheeks tinged pink when Damen’s fingers lingered by his face. He composed himself with quick ease, shoulders rolled back, head arched high with grace. He had to be of nobility. Laurent’s gaze shifted to the wreckage on the shore, and said, “I was drifting. There was a storm.” 

“Are you wounded?” Damen did another scan, gazing from head to torso, trim waist to the tip of his boots. Laurent was not carrying himself as if he were injured now that he was awake, but he would bring him to the healers with haste if need be. They could receive the report for Laurent’s identity and purpose after. King Theomedes would accept that if it was what Damen decided. 

Laurent shook his head. His eyes were flickering, from Damen’s body to his boat to Damen’s horse a few meters away. 

“Where were you headed?” They did not receive visitors on their island; strong currents and tall rock cliffs provided a natural barrier to the outside world, and Akielos has been secluded for so many decades that their presence would have disappeared off the map. 

Laurent tightened the fist in his lap, and his voice sounded distant when he finally spoke. “Perhaps here. I am fleeing from my home.” 

“Is your kingdom at risk?” Damen asked softly. 

Laurent looked at him, his eyes widened with surprise but also wariness. 

“I mean you no harm. The grace with which you handle yourself, your clothing, even the vessel upon which you came--they all denote you of high birth. I cannot imagine another scenario which would make one flee their homeland.” 

Laurent’s body seem to sag at those words. After long moments of internal struggle, he looked directly into Damen’s eyes and declared, “You are right. I am the Prince of Vere, and I have come to seek a hero to help me reclaim my freedom.” 


	3. Kings

_ Damianos was seven years old when King Theomedes took him to Kingsmeet. His father told him the stories of their forefathers, the kings who founded Akielos, and raised the cliffs to protect them from the outside; the decrees that kept their military strong against invaders, and kept their people safe.  _

_ One day, Damianos would inherit it all.  _

_ Theomedes told Damen that he came from a long line of kings, and that he too was destined for greatness. That he would one day be a hero, and when that time came, he would become the next great King of Akielos _ .

_ “But Father,” Damen asked, his brown eyes wide, his long curls untameable. “We are at not at war, and with you as our Exalted, there will never be an end to our peace.”  _

_ Theomedes laid a hand on Damen’s hair, messing it even further. “You shall train, and become the strongest warrior in Akielos. The time will come when you are needed.” _

Damianos bowed on one knee before his father in the great hall. He could feel the gaze of the kyroi around him, each leader with their own retinue seated behind them. Nevertheless, every word he spoke echoed through the large chamber. 

“Father, I shall leave with Prince Laurent of Vere to defeat his oppressor and reclaim his kingdom.” 

A scatter of whispers erupted amongst the hall. It was a rare event to send soldiers beyond their waters to report back any news of the outside world, but for their crown prince to leave, it was unheard of. 

Eyes flickered towards Laurent, who stood a few feet away at the foot of King Theomedes’ dias. He was unshackled but there were two armed guards on either side of him, ready to immobilize if Laurent showed any signs of danger. 

Damen had known, from the way Laurent’s eyes drifted from his lips, then down to his feet in the uncanny way of a demure maiden, that Laurent  _ was  _ dangerous, in more ways than one. But Damen also knew that his plea for help, laced with an undertone of uneasy desperation, was genuine. 

Damen lifted his gaze to look upon his father. Theomedes was swathed in his red cloak, the lion crest of the royal house stitched in golden thread. He struck an imposing figure in that throne and the day Damen returned a hero, he would take that seat and become king. 

His father knew there would be no alternative. This was the path when Laurent arrived ashore. 

King Theomedes rose, and the entire hall dutifully lowered themselves. Even Laurent, with the tip of his golden head, graciously lowered his eyes in deference. His father raised a cup to Damen. “Rise, my son. We shall feast to your victory, and await your return. You will bring with you the might of Akielos, and return with bounty.” 

The great hall erupted in cheers, and the wine flowed. Damen accepted his cup and emptied it of its contents, as customary of a king’s blessing. Around them, the kyroi downed their own drinks. Damen watched as griva was offered to Laurent, who accepted it, and he watched as his father stared at Laurent with steely eyes. 

Laurent drank, upturned the cup, and not a drop was left remaining. Damen sent Laurent a smile as his father turned away to talk to his generals. 

The blessing has been made--the journey will begin. 


	4. Legacy

Vere was a hideous country. Vivid colors painted ostentatious pictures of history on the walls, and no crevice was left untouched, all things adorned with unnecessary decorations. Damen’s eyes  _ hurt _ . 

“This is Vere,” Laurent said, and under his breath, “My legacy.” 

Laurent was wearing a large hat with an overly large brim that covered all of his yellow hair which, of course, had entirely unnecessary feathers protruding from it.

“I thought the point was to  _ not _ catch anyone’s attention.” Damen could not stop staring at the feathers. They were purposefully dyed to be a shade of green he had never seen before-- _ why _ ? 

Laurent gave him a funny look, and then said pointedly, “You are the one standing out.” 

Damen looked down at his chiton, his sandals, and the red cloak gifted to him from his father. “No.” 

Laurent grinned, “You are practically wandering around naked. Shameful, for a hero.” Laurent dragged him to the nearest shop. Thus, began the worst ordeal of Damen’s life. He had fought down Kastor and ten of his guards during his revolt. He had gone up against the greatest wrestler in Akielos and conquered. But never had he faced the challenge that was Veretian clothing. 

It was restrictive with so many layers, unnecessary with its vivid patterns and colors, and horrifyingly overcomplicated with the laces. Why so many laces? “If I need to relieve myself, I shall not make it before I can unlace my pants!” Damen exclaimed. 

He refused the jacket, and instead threw over his shoulders his father’s cloak. Laurent did not object to it, and it was the small victories that mattered. 

Damen drew the line at the feathered hat. 

Laurent sniffed, and went to select an earring. Damen looked at him with horrified eyes, and Laurent hushed him. “It’s for me.” 

And so they went, dressed like a bruise, to the center of the city. There was a huge crowd and Damen watched as Laurent put on his ostentatious sapphire earring, walked up to a man wearing official livery, and whispered in his ear.. 

A few moments later, the man announced, “The next challenger, Lord Damianos!” 

The crowd roared and clapped and parted for him, and Damen realized that they were surrounding a fighter’s ring. The previous victor was standing, stripped down to his undershirt and pants, still sweating from his last fight. 

Another man hurried over to him, gesturing and speaking in rapid Veretian. The only words Damen caught were, “The seat is for your pet, my lord. Good luck in the matches.” 

Damen turned to Laurent, who calmly, casually, draped himself in the chair like his throne, and looked up at him with bright eyes. 

“These are the qualifying rounds to enter the local tournament. Before I can bring you before my oppressor, you must first win and prove to me that you are strong and worthy.” 

“And you are my pet?” Damen was beginning to realize the significance of the earring. It was expensive and eye-catching, and the exact same shade of blue as Laurent’s eyes. Every man in the crowd was jostling to catch a look at Laurent, easily the most beautiful man in the crowd. 

“My lord,” Laurent bowed his head demurely, and Damen--up-close--could see the upturn of laughter on his lips. 

Damen let out a laugh. He had been confused by this country, but a fight? That he could do. With a dramatic flair he thought Laurent would appreciate, Damen unclipped his cloak to pin it on Laurent. 

With his crest of the golden lion on a field of red, there could be no other interpretation. The cloak draped over Laurent, announcing to everyone that he belonged to no one else but Damen. 

His pet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sooooo sorry for the delay. I started work at the hospital and still need to study when I get home after a 12-hour shift, so I've been dying a bit. I hope to bang out the rest of it this weekend though!


	5. Courting

It didn’t take long before Damen became the talk of Arles. He had bested one tournament before Laurent signed him up for another. And then another. Wrestling, swordplay, spear-throwing. It seemed that the Veretian people were a lot more enamored with displays of fighting than Damen had preconceived, and there were endless competitions to find the best archer, the best swordsman, the best rider in the city. 

With every competition, Damen’s reputation soared. He was given the grandest room at the most luxurious inn. The prize money tied to his name opened all the doors. Damen did not care for these luxuries, but he found himself enjoying the camaraderie of the fellow fighters. They seemed to come from all over the kingdom, even the occasional fighter from Patras and Vask, the two neighboring kingdoms. 

“I was unaware Vere had such interest over sports,” Damen remarked one afternoon, after he had wrestled a man to the ground and held him until he was announced the victor. The cheers were thunderous around him as they waited for the reward.  There had been a prize at the end of every tournament, and Damen had gifted it all to Laurent. 

If Laurent had been a real pet, he could have bought out his contract many times over.

Instead Laurent was reclining low in his chair, once again wearing a ridiculous hat, watching Damen with the same admiring gaze that fell on his face every time he assumed his pet persona. The same persona when he perched himself on Damen’s lap after a successful victory and accepted the sweetmeat from his fingers.

A man was emerging from the crowds, pulling along a horse. It was a majestic white steed, one befitting a king. It was Damen’s prize. The man handed the reins to Damen who took them but he didn’t climb on like the spectators anticipated. Instead Damen walked, pulling the horse along until he reached Laurent, and then handed the reins over. 

A hush fell over the crowd. To them, Laurent was the unattainable pet who had won the heart of their latest victor. No one knew that Laurent held all of his earnings. This was a public display, a handoff of a prize worth so much more to someone who was nothing more than a contract lover. 

Damen didn’t care. He had seen the way Laurent fed the horses that roamed the beaches of Akielos, and gazed fondly at the stables of their inn. Riches could not win Laurent’s heart, but he knew something that would. 

Laurent stood up and accepted the reins, his hands sliding past Damen’s. “Thank you, my lord,” he said for the crowd. The lingering touch of Laurent’s hand was his response to Damen. Laurent leaned his yellow head towards the horse, which gently butted his head back. 

That night, when Laurent finished bathing and wandered into his rooms with that sapphire earring still in his ear, Damen commented, “You easily slide into a role not befitting your position.” 

“Not befitting my position,” Laurent repeated, a twist in his lips. “Whatever do you mean by that?” 

“A prince should not so easily play pet.” 

“Who says I am playing?” Laurent walked towards him steadily, and Damen took the honorable steps back until his knees hit the edge of the bed and he sat down heavily. Laurent stood over him.

“You like to tease. To get a reaction out of me.” There was no crowd, no possible spies, no need for games. 

Laurent smiled at him, and it was a look that would have sent suitors to their knees. By chance, Damen was already sitting. “You are not wrong.” He reached for the platter of fruit besides the bed, and picked one plump grape. Holding it delicately, he pressed it to Damen’s lips. “Would you like to be my pet?” 

Damen opened his mouth, and Laurent pressed the fruit into his mouth. His fingers lingered on Damen’s lips. 

After swallowing the sweet fruit, Damen turned his head so Laurent’s hand brushed against his cheek instead. With one smooth action, Damen pulled Laurent into his lap so his knees were astride Damen’s thighs and they looked each other in the eye. “I would prefer us to be equals.”  

“Equals?” Laurent asked. “You have no money and no horse.” 

Damen ignored his teasing in favor of holding Laurent’s waist. “The horse is my courting gift. When we win your freedom, we shall ride together along the shores of Akielos.” 

A small smile appeared on Laurent’s face, before it disappeared again. He leaned in to press a short kiss on Damen’s cheek. With an odd look on his face, he said, “I think you are ready. As my champion, you will help me win my freedom.”

Finally. Damen’s hold on Laurent’s waist tightened. “How?”

“Tomorrow you will face against the King of Vere.” 


	6. "It's the game I like"

The King of Vere was an imposing figure, adorned in armor and chainmail, a helmet covering his face. Even through the steel helmet, Damen could feel a penetrating gaze, an attempt to stare him down, to make him cower. Damen knew this would not be the same easy fight, especially when Laurent had presented him with his own Veretian armor. 

“For protection,” he had said, as he strapped the chest plate tightly. Damen leaned down to assist as Laurent reached for the helmet. “Don’t underestimate him,” Laurent had murmured, pressing his lips softly to the underside of Damen’s jaw before the helmet came over him, temporarily cloaking him in a field of darkness.

Damen could now appreciate the dampening benefit of the helmet. They were standing in the center of the palace courtyard, surrounded on all sides by soldiers, noblemen, and commoners that were lucky enough to make their way inside. Through the slotted visor, his field of vision was narrowed and focused on his foe. 

The King of Vere. 

The only man capable of making Laurent feel trapped in his own kingdom. 

All the other competitions in the last few months had lead up to this. The final challenge and Damen would conquer, would win Laurent back his freedom, and then they could return together to Akielos. He wanted to erase Laurent’s worries so all he faced was happiness. Damen could already taste the salty ocean air as they rode their horses along the sandy shores; could envision the bright mornings when they woke up naked in soft sheets to the breeze entering through the open windows; could taste the apricots and oranges as they fed each other, the fruit picked from the finest orchards of his land. 

Movement from the King returned Damen’s focus to the field. It was single combat, till the first disarming, or first blood. 

Their blades clashed with the screaming of steel. Damen used his larger build to his advantage, pressing back against the King, but he wasn’t swayed. The Veretian swordwork was on full display, but it was something Damen had seen from the people he had faced against, from Laurent’s own sword practice in the early mornings. Damen could see the resemblance, the same swordmasters from the palace who taught Laurent had taught the King. 

Damen had the element of surprise. Akielon swordsmanship had never been studied, and so there were no moves against his plays. He had no doubts that the King, one so shrew and corrupt, would have had spies reporting back to him regarding Damen’s skill. But the prowess of the Akielon swordmasters could not be so easily countered. 

Damen had more stake in this fight. To the King of Vere, Damen was merely another challenger, one trying to overthrow his rule, but Damen was fighting for Laurent. There was no other option besides victory. 

With his goal in mind, Damen’s strength was renewed. He gained his second wind, and he could tell the moment when the King realized the tide was turning. Damen brought his sword down hard, with all his might, and he knew his foe’s arms were straining under such strength. With a sharp twist of his wrists, he locked onto the other sword hilt and yanked with all his might. 

The Veretian King’s sword flew through the air and landed with a heavy thud, embedded in the dirt. 

Damen stood a few feet away, his chest heaving from the effort. His sword was still in his hand. He had won. 

“You’ve done it!” The Veretian King exclaimed. With some effort, considering his still chainmail-gloved hands, the King ripped off his helmet to look properly at Damen. 

Damen removed his own helmet to ensure he seeing clearly. The King had an exuberant smile on his face, not anger or shock at being disarmed before his own people. 

King Auguste of Vere took three large steps, walked straight up to Damen, and pulled him into a manly embrace, thumping his back in the same excited manner. “You have defeated me! You have proven that you are a fighter even greater than myself! You are worthy of winning Prince Laurent’s hand-in-marriage!” 

Damen felt himself recoil at those words.  _ What _ . He stumbled back from King Auguste’s embrace. 

Damen thought he saw cheering all around him but he whipped around until he was staring only at Laurent, who by then had risen from his throne on the dias, his golden crown on top of his golden head. He had the same curve of a smile on his lips as the night they snuck out of their inn to be chased across the rooftops, dodging the belligerent guards angry that Laurent had won their month’s earnings in a game of cards.  _ Why, _ Damen had asked, as they ducked behind clotheslines and dodged loose tiles in the night. 

Laurent had said, his blue eyes sparkling as they did now,  _ “It’s the game I like.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe. Who saw this coming?


	7. Gardens

There had been hours of unnecessary fanfare. After that declaration from the King of Vere, Damen found himself paraded through the crowds, separated from Laurent. The townspeople cheered for him, having witnessed his fighting prowess for weeks and had already declared him their champion. Damen wanted to find Laurent and shake him for answers. Instead he was brought to the palace and stripped down in the baths where he almost hoped a certain blonde would join him before Damen remembered he should be angry.

He was redressed in more ridiculous Veretian fashion and brought to a grand feast where he sat in a position of honor, but once again, separate from Laurent. As King Auguste announced with joy that the competition for his brother’s hand has finally come to an end, Damen wondered if perhaps Veretian spouses (or soon to be) never actually spent any time together.

It wasn’t until the feast ended and Damen turned just to catch a glimpse of disappearing gold hair around the corner that he realized Laurent might be avoiding him.

As quick as these celebrations commenced, it came to an abrupt end and Damen was left to wander the palace. Servants bowed respectfully, nobles offered their greetings, and Damen found himself in one of the gardens. He could hear the chatter from courtiers a distance away but was safely hidden behind the hedges.

Damen almost sighed when he heard approaching footsteps but then they stopped, and Damen recognized the pinprick feeling of someone watching him from behind. “I thought you were avoiding me,” Damen said, loud enough to be heard.

“You’re angry. I didn’t think you wanted to see me.” Laurent was terse, but Damen, through the weeks they had spent together in close quarters, recognized the hesitance in his words. It wasn’t avoidance, it was fear. Damen turned, and saw Laurent standing tall and straight, but with one foot ready to escape at any moment.

“You don’t think I am owed an explanation?” Damen took a step closer, keeping his eyes on Laurent’s face, illuminated by moonlight and the torches outlining the gardens. “You deceived me.”

Laurent turned his face away, and Damen wanted to pull him back. He wanted to see if Laurent could lie directly to his face once more. After too long of a silence, Laurent finally spoke, addressing the night flowers in the hedge. “I never anticipated this. Auguste wanted me to find a betrothed, and I told him there was no one worthy unless they could prove they were stronger than even him in single combat. I was supposed to find someone who could defeat everyone else but…” His voice quieted.

“But?” Damen repeated.

“But not defeat him. It’s _Auguste_ ,” Laurent’s voice contained all the idolizations of a younger brother. “He was the strongest, unparalleled. I didn’t anticipate this.”

“That I would win?”

“That I would want you to win.”  

Damen smiled. There was a warmth blossoming in his chest more beautiful than all the flowers that lined the gardens. Gently, he reached to turn Laurent’s face toward him. He said fondly, “Is that so bad?”

“You must return to your kingdom. You are to become a king of your own right.”

That was true. But that was not what Laurent was trying to say, Damen realized. “And are you not coming with me? I have defeated your brother. You are my prize.”

Laurent narrowed his eyes. “Prize,” he repeated. “I am not cattle to be traded nor a trophy to be displayed.”

“Oh sweetheart, you have played me for a fool for weeks. I will parade you around as much as I please, my dear _betrothed_.” Damen could not suppress his growing smile when Laurent’s pale face betrayed him with a pink flush across his cheeks. “All that I have said is true. I want us to ride along the shores of Akielos, to feel the ocean water lick at our feet, to make love on the sand. I wish to wake up with you in my arms, to share with you all that Akielos has to offer.” As Damen spoke, he stepped closer, until he had pulled Laurent into his embrace.

Silence fell over them, only the distant sound of a crackling torch could be heard. Laurent was tense in his arms, but he didn’t pull away. Slowly, he relaxed until he rested his head against Damen’s chest.

“I have never imagined leaving my brother’s side,” Laurent murmured. Laurent’s hands lifted from his sides, and loosely grasped at Damen’s waist.

“You are not my captive. I do not mean to keep you by my side unless you come willingly. You will have the freedom to return to Vere whenever you choose,” Damen said. There was another matter he had debated for so long after Damen witnessed personally all that Vere had to offer. “Perhaps it is time Akielos opens her borders and once again venture to the outside world.”

Laurent pulled away to look at Damen in surprise. “You cannot do that.”

“One day I will be king.”

“You will upset a great number of people.”

“Oh I will be a most tyrannical ruler.” Damen thumbed the thick fabric of Laurent’s jacket. In proper Veretian court decorum, Laurent was swathed in layers of clothing and Damen wondered how long it would take to unlace Laurent out of it all. “I shall make outrageous demands. All foreigners must wear chiton.” Damen whispered into Laurent’s ear as he interlocked their hands, “Especially the king’s consort.”

Laurent’s lips twitched. “Would you be able to get any work done?”

“It is unlikely,” Damen admitted. There may have been a shattered pitcher in Akielos. “I will be so distracted by your wit, and beauty, and spend all my time vying for your attention that my people will rebell and overthrow me. You must convince your brother to take me in when that happens.”

“Auguste might be disappointed that you are so weak-willed.”

“I think your brother will agree that even the strongest man will fall prey to your charms.” Damen certainly felt silly. He was in Vere, in a beautiful garden, holding Laurent’s hand.

“Is that so?” Laurent tilted his head, his blue eyes sparkling. “Shall I try it on King Theomedes then? Why settle as consort when I can have your kingdom?”

Damen lifted Laurent’s hand to press it over his chest. “You have my heart. You already have my kingdom.” Damen felt as if his heart was pounding, not because it was a lie, but because every word uttered was the absolute truth. Damen was not sure, if ever forced to make a decision, that he could choose between his kingdom, or this.

Laurent squeeze Damen’s hand tightly and said, “You know I am Auguste’s weakness. Vere is yours as well.” He gazed at steadily.

Damen felt as if he could get lost in those eyes.

One day Damen would return to Akielos with Laurent and they would be wed together in front of his father and all of the kyroi. One day Damen would kneel down as a prince and rise up as king. One day he would open Akielos and connect her to Vere. Until then, Damen would follow Laurent wherever he chooses to go. Damen missed the blue waters around Akielos, but he has found a new home in the blue depths of Laurent’s eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you used your insulin because that was ridiculously sappy. I can't believe I'm finally done. I'm so sorry this short fic for Capri Week has dragged on for so long. Real life has been brutal but it's finally over! I hope you all enjoyed it :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you [Cynthia](http://americancupsofbritishtea.tumblr.com/) for being my beta. Find me on [tumblr](http://sarabelium.tumblr.com/)


End file.
